1965 Chevrolet C10 - Lucky

A couple of the most important things in life are family and friends. Like a lot of us, Tony Gunter is a lucky guy—not only is he an accomplished craftsman, but he’s surrounded by great family and wonderful friends. One friend in particular, Johnny Bowen, is one who blurs the line between both. He’s always treated Tony and his two sons like they were his own, and the Gunter’s realize how blessed they are to have such a friend.

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Now Tony is a woodworker by trade and a classic truck fan by nature. His pal Johnny, a classic truck lover himself, knew just how much Tony wanted to begin a project he and his sons could enjoy together and figured out how he could make Tony’s wish a reality. Johnny did it, out of the blue no less, by giving Tony a ’65 Chevy project and two parts trucks to go along with it. Johnny told Tony that he was tired of looking at the trio and just wanted them out of his hair—though Tony knew he actually did it out of kindness and his wish to see Tony and the boys enjoy the benefits of a family project.

Not one to look a gift horse in the mouth, Tony happily accepted Johnny’s kind offer and quickly herded the trio home so he and the boys could begin the task. The subject of the rodstoration had already been begun by Johnny, who had completed the rebuilding of the engine, trans, and rearend. The rest of the chore was up to the Gunter’s though Johnny planned on lending a hand whenever the opportunity arose. Not to be left out, Tony’s friends Dave and Danny quickly offered their assistance as Tony had his hands rather full just keeping up with the work his moulding and trim shop required. With the boys and promised assistance from Dave and Danny, Tony was determined to make Johnny proud by rodstoring the Chevy every bit as well as Johnny would have done himself.

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Work began in earnest in 2006 and with help from the boys (all four of ’em) and lots of parts and components from Classic Chevy Parts in Oklahoma City, the Chevy began to take shape over the next few years of free-time wrenching. The truck was just completed days before I spied it at the NSRA Street Rod Nationals last August. In fact, when Tony and I rolled it over near the stables to shoot the accompanying images, the pickup had a whopping 125 miles on the odometer. As you can plainly see, Tony and the gang did a fantastic job on the Chevy, and I’m sure Tony’s pal Johnny is as proud of Tony and the guys as Tony is about his new old pickup—and rightly so. CT